page_title: M23 rebellion
section_title: Peace negotiations and M23 withdrawal
hierarchical_section_title: M23 rebellion / The conflict / Peace negotiations and M23 withdrawal
caption_attribution_description: Casques bleus de la MONUSCO sur la dernière ligne de défense près de Goma. Photo MONUSCO
context_page_description: The M23 rebellion was fighting in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, that occurred between the March 23 Movement and government forces. The rebellion was part of continued fighting in the region after the formal end of the Second Congo War in 2003. It broke out in 2012 and continued into 2013, when a peace agreement was made among eleven African nations, and the M23 troops surrendered in Uganda.
  In April 2012, former National Congress for the Defence of the People soldiers mutinied against the DRC government and the peacekeeping contingent of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mutineers formed a rebel group called the March 23 Movement, also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army. It was composed of former members of the rebel CNDP, and allegedly sponsored by the government of the neighbouring states of Rwanda and Uganda.
  On 20 November 2012, M23 rebels took control of Goma, a North Kivu provincial capital with a population of one million people.
context_section_description: According to the chief of Uganda People's Defence Force, M23 leader  met with him and agreed to let him mediate, which resulted in M23 agreeing to withdrawing their forces from Goma and Sake in principle, although a timeframe did not appear to have been agreed upon. However, a DRC military spokesman claimed that M23 had refused to abandon Goma and said: "They have refused to leave the city of Goma. This is a declaration of war, and we intend to resume combat." Nevertheless, the next day the situation appeared to ease, with M23 agreeing to a withdrawal from captured territory, with the intention of eventually leaving Goma and returning to their original positions before they took the city.
  On 1 December, M23 rebels pulled out of Goma, later under Congolese army control.
caption: MONUSCO troops around Goma, 2012
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